To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com.

As COVID-19 or "coronavirus" spreads around the world,
so are phishing scams or the infection of computer systems with
malware through phishing emails and websites that appear to be
related to the coronavirus. These phishing scams are spreading fast
across the world and capitalise on the widespread panic that seems
to have gripped the general public. In the face of this new
emerging cyber threat, it is crucial that businesses are aware of
the risks they face and implement the necessary cybersecurity
safeguards.

How Do Coronavirus Phishing Scams Work?

Coronavirus-related phishing scams take different forms and use
different mediums. One of the most common forms is the use of
phishing emails. For example, cybercriminals impersonating medical
experts such as virologists or officials from the World Health
Organisation have been sending phishing emails containing malicious
links or attachments which purport to provide information on how to
protect oneself from the coronavirus. Unsuspecting users who click
on the links or access the attachments open their systems to a
malware attack which may result in the infiltration of the
connected network, theft of personal information or the entire
system being rendered inoperative.

Another very common form of phishing takes place when fraudulent
websites containing malicious links are set up. Such websites clone
the websites of well-known organisations (for example, a healthcare
company or a government website). These websites may then contain a
link to a downloadable file, which purports to contain useful
information relating to the coronavirus but instead contains
malicious codes. Phishing websites may also trick users into
providing certain personal or confidential data in return for
information or useful items related to the coronavirus (e.g. face
masks). The types of user data commonly targeted include ID
numbers, banking information, credit card details, account
passwords or any other types of data which may facilitate identity
theft. The stolen data is typically traded or sold on the dark web.
It appears that the number of coronavirus-related phishing websites
is increasing: research1 conducted by Check Point
Research revealed a recent surge in the number of registrations of
domain names associated with the coronavirus. If in doubt, check
the domain name for the fraudulent website, and you will
immediately spot a misspelling of the domain name for the official
website.

Phishing through social media has also been on the rise. Like
with fake websites, it is very easy to create accounts on social
media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter,
impersonating well-known organisations or individuals. These
phishing accounts are used to trick users into performing a
particular action (e.g. providing personal or confidential data or
downloading files containing malicious codes, or providing
endorsements and likes, thus duping more people). Given the rising
fear over the coronavirus and the way social media posts tend to go
viral, social media phishing scams pose a serious threat to the
public as they have the potential to reach a large number of
individuals within a relatively short period of time.

In an organisational context, where an employee accesses a
malicious link or attachment on a company system through any of
these phishing methods, the malware infecting that system may
subsequently spread to other systems sharing the same corporate
network. Ransomware attacks, which are increasingly faced by many
organisations, may also be conducted through a coronavirus-related
phishing scam. A phishing scam may have far-reaching consequences
for an organisation, such as data exfiltration and company
operations being affected, as well as significant tangible and
intangible costs.

Potential Legal and Regulatory Issues

Coronavirus-related phishing scams raise several legal and
regulatory issues for businesses in Hong Kong. While Hong Kong
currently does not have any overarching cybersecurity legislation,
the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO) and guidelines issued
by the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) will come into
play if such scams involve the loss of personal data.

Under Data Protection Principle 4 of the PDPO (DPP4), data users
are required to take all practicable steps to ensure that personal
data held by them are protected from unauthorised or accidental
access, processing, erasure or use. Where a data breach occurs, the
data user may be in breach of DPP4 if the PCPD considers the data
user to have failed to take "all practicable steps" to
safeguard the personal data. Relevant factors that affect the
PCPD's analysis include the type of data involved and level of
harm to data subjects that may result in the event of a breach. If
a data user is found to be in breach of DPP4, the PCPD may commence
an investigation and issue an enforcement notice requiring
corrective measures to be taken. Any non-compliance with such
notice would constitute an offence. While there is no mandatory
obligation to notify the PCPD of any data breach, the PCPD
recommends that data users provide voluntary notification as soon
as possible and preserve all evidence related to the breach to
facilitate future investigation and remedial actions.

Additionally, regulatory bodies such as the Securities and
Futures Commission, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the
Insurance Authority (IA) have published guidelines or circulars
relating to cybersecurity. The HKMA requires authorised
institutions to evaluate their cybersecurity controls with
reference to new cyber threats (this may include
coronavirus-related phishing scams) on a regular basis and submit
periodic reports with respect to any cybersecurity risk identified.
The regulatory bodies have also issued guidelines on the reporting
of cybersecurity incidents. For example, the IA requires authorised
insurers to report any cybersecurity incident within 72 hours of
detection of the incident. Failure to comply with these guidelines
may affect the regulatory body's assessment of whether the
regulated entity is "fit and proper" and may possibly
lead to disciplinary actions being taken.

Recommended Steps

When it comes to cybersecurity, prevention is invariably better
than cure. Organisations should take preventive measures to stop
cybercriminals from infiltrating their systems in the first place.
Examples of such preventive measures include providing employees
with specific training and guidance on coronavirus-related scams.
These training sessions may provide employees with guidance on
identifying potential coronavirus-related phishing websites or
emails and educate employees on the risks of opening unidentified
links or attachments. Simulations of coronavirus-related phishing
attacks may also be conducted to ensure that employees are
well-equipped to identify and deal with such cyber incidents.
Employees should also be encouraged to promptly report any
suspicious phishing activities in order to allow for the necessary
actions to be taken in the first instance.

Putting a greater emphasis on maintaining robust cybersecurity
controls will also go a long way towards detecting and deterring
such phishing threats. Organisations may employ various measures,
such as regular audits, continuous review of intrusions, timely
updates of anti-virus software and stronger access controls, to
reduce their vulnerability to cyberattacks.

Organisations should also put in place a response plan in the
event of a cyberattack. This would facilitate a swift and effective
response to a cyber incident and demonstrate the organisation's
good-faith compliance with the relevant laws and regulations should
the PCPD or other regulators subsequently initiate an investigation
of the incident. In light of the increase in the number of
coronavirus-related scams, an organisation's response plans may
be tailored to take into account any specific features of such
scams.

Organisations may also consider reaching out to the Hong Kong
Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre (HKCERT),
which may provide advice on recent scams as well as assist with the
formulation of a suitable response strategy. It is also
increasingly common and important for businesses to take out
cybersecurity insurance to mitigate the potential financial impact
from a data breach, especially for businesses that are heavily
exposed to such cyber risks.

Finally, organisations may consider putting in place a domain
name watch to monitor any suspicious registrations of domain names
that may be used to redirect to fake websites. Typically, these
would be domain names that are a variation of the official domain
name of an organisation, for example "mayerbrown.com" vs
"mayorbrown.com".

Individuals should also be alert to phishing scams and take
measures to ensure that they do not fall prey to these scams. One
of the most important steps is to learn how to identify a phishing
website. Examples of ways to do so include:

Checking the URL and looking for any
red flags (e.g. ensuring that the spelling of the web address and
top level domain name is correct);

Being wary of any URL which redirects
users to a different website with a highly similar design (i.e. a
phishing website) instead; and

Reviewing the website content and
identifying any irregularities that would not be expected to be
found in the website of a well-known organisation (e.g. spelling
errors, grammatical errors, low resolution images, etc.).

When in doubt, individuals may also check the organisation's
official website or social media page to see if it has released any
announcements regarding phishing activities. Other measures
individuals may take to prevent phishing scams include being kept
informed about any new phishing methods being used, installing
anti-phishing toolbars on their Internet browsers and checking
their online accounts regularly for any unauthorised access.

Conclusion

No organisation is immune to cyberattacks. As the general fear
of the coronavirus epidemic grows, the threat of
coronavirus-related phishing scams is likely to become increasingly
significant. Therefore, both companies and individuals in Hong Kong
should take the appropriate precautionary measures to ensure they
are well-placed to identify and deal with such cyber threats when
they do occur.

Mayer Brown is a global legal services organization
comprising legal practices that are separate entities (the Mayer
Brown Practices). The Mayer Brown Practices are: Mayer Brown LLP, a
limited liability partnership established in the United States;
Mayer Brown International LLP, a limited liability partnership
incorporated in England and Wales; Mayer Brown JSM, a Hong Kong
partnership, and its associated entities in Asia; and Tauil &
Chequer Advogados, a Brazilian law partnership with which Mayer
Brown is associated. "Mayer Brown" and the Mayer Brown
logo are the trademarks of the Mayer Brown Practices in their
respective jurisdictions.

This article provides information and comments on legal
issues and developments of interest. The foregoing is not a
comprehensive treatment of the subject matter covered and is not
intended to provide legal advice. Readers should seek specific
legal advice before taking any action with respect to the matters
discussed herein. Please also read the JSM legal publications
Disclaimer.

Hollywood movies introduced the concept of artificial intelligence to the world. Following the portrayal of artificial intelligence, many have speculated that robots will one day take over the world and subdue humans as their subjects.

Mondaq Ltd requires you to register and provide information that personally identifies you, including your content preferences, for three primary purposes (full details of Mondaq’s use of your personal data can be found in our Privacy and Cookies Notice):

To allow you to personalize the Mondaq websites you are visiting to show content ("Content") relevant to your interests.

To enable features such as password reminder, news alerts, email a colleague, and linking from Mondaq (and its affiliate sites) to your website.

Mondaq hopes that our registered users will support us in maintaining our free to view business model by consenting to our use of your personal data as described below.

Mondaq has a "free to view" business model. Our services are paid for by Contributors in exchange for Mondaq providing them with access to information about who accesses their content. Once personal data is transferred to our Contributors they become a data controller of this personal data. They use it to measure the response that their articles are receiving, as a form of market research. They may also use it to provide Mondaq users with information about their products and services.

Details of each Contributor to which your personal data will be transferred is clearly stated within the Content that you access. For full details of how this Contributor will use your personal data, you should review the Contributor’s own Privacy Notice.

Terms & Conditions

Mondaq.com (the Website) is owned and managed by Mondaq Ltd (Mondaq). Mondaq grants you a non-exclusive, revocable licence to access the Website and associated services, such as the Mondaq News Alerts (Services), subject to and in consideration of your compliance with the following terms and conditions of use (Terms). Your use of the Website and/or Services constitutes your agreement to the Terms. Mondaq may terminate your use of the Website and Services if you are in breach of these Terms or if Mondaq decides to terminate the licence granted hereunder for any reason whatsoever.

Use of www.mondaq.com

To Use Mondaq.com you must be: eighteen (18) years old or over; legally capable of entering into binding contracts; and not in any way prohibited by the applicable law to enter into these Terms in the jurisdiction which you are currently located.

You may use the Website as an unregistered user, however, you are required to register as a user if you wish to read the full text of the Content or to receive the Services.

You may not modify, publish, transmit, transfer or sell, reproduce, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, link, display, or in any way exploit any of the Content, in whole or in part, except as expressly permitted in these Terms or with the prior written consent of Mondaq. You may not use electronic or other means to extract details or information from the Content. Nor shall you extract information about users or Contributors in order to offer them any services or products.

In your use of the Website and/or Services you shall: comply with all applicable laws, regulations, directives and legislations which apply to your Use of the Website and/or Services in whatever country you are physically located including without limitation any and all consumer law, export control laws and regulations; provide to us true, correct and accurate information and promptly inform us in the event that any information that you have provided to us changes or becomes inaccurate; notify Mondaq immediately of any circumstances where you have reason to believe that any Intellectual Property Rights or any other rights of any third party may have been infringed; co-operate with reasonable security or other checks or requests for information made by Mondaq from time to time; and at all times be fully liable for the breach of any of these Terms by a third party using your login details to access the Website and/or Services

however, you shall not: do anything likely to impair, interfere with or damage or cause harm or distress to any persons, or the network; do anything that will infringe any Intellectual Property Rights or other rights of Mondaq or any third party; or use the Website, Services and/or Content otherwise than in accordance with these Terms; use any trade marks or service marks of Mondaq or the Contributors, or do anything which may be seen to take unfair advantage of the reputation and goodwill of Mondaq or the Contributors, or the Website, Services and/or Content.

Mondaq reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to take any action that it deems necessary and appropriate in the event it considers that there is a breach or threatened breach of the Terms.

Mondaq’s Rights and Obligations

Unless otherwise expressly set out to the contrary, nothing in these Terms shall serve to transfer from Mondaq to you, any Intellectual Property Rights owned by and/or licensed to Mondaq and all rights, title and interest in and to such Intellectual Property Rights will remain exclusively with Mondaq and/or its licensors.

Mondaq shall use its reasonable endeavours to make the Website and Services available to you at all times, but we cannot guarantee an uninterrupted and fault free service.

Mondaq reserves the right to make changes to the services and/or the Website or part thereof, from time to time, and we may add, remove, modify and/or vary any elements of features and functionalities of the Website or the services.

Mondaq also reserves the right from time to time to monitor your Use of the Website and/or services.

Disclaimer

The Content is general information only. It is not intended to constitute legal advice or seek to be the complete and comprehensive statement of the law, nor is it intended to address your specific requirements or provide advice on which reliance should be placed. Mondaq and/or its Contributors and other suppliers make no representations about the suitability of the information contained in the Content for any purpose. All Content provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Mondaq and/or its Contributors and other suppliers hereby exclude and disclaim all representations, warranties or guarantees with regard to the Content, including all implied warranties and conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Mondaq expressly excludes all representations, warranties, obligations, and liabilities arising out of or in connection with all Content. In no event shall Mondaq and/or its respective suppliers be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortious action, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Content or performance of Mondaq’s Services.

General

Mondaq may alter or amend these Terms by amending them on the Website. By continuing to Use the Services and/or the Website after such amendment, you will be deemed to have accepted any amendment to these Terms.

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and you irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales to settle any dispute which may arise out of or in connection with these Terms. If you live outside the United Kingdom, English law shall apply only to the extent that English law shall not deprive you of any legal protection accorded in accordance with the law of the place where you are habitually resident ("Local Law"). In the event English law deprives you of any legal protection which is accorded to you under Local Law, then these terms shall be governed by Local Law and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts where you are habitually resident.

You may print and keep a copy of these Terms, which form the entire agreement between you and Mondaq and supersede any other communications or advertising in respect of the Service and/or the Website.

No delay in exercising or non-exercise by you and/or Mondaq of any of its rights under or in connection with these Terms shall operate as a waiver or release of each of your or Mondaq’s right. Rather, any such waiver or release must be specifically granted in writing signed by the party granting it.

If any part of these Terms is held unenforceable, that part shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to give effect to the intent of the parties, and the Terms shall continue in full force and effect.

Mondaq shall not incur any liability to you on account of any loss or damage resulting from any delay or failure to perform all or any part of these Terms if such delay or failure is caused, in whole or in part, by events, occurrences, or causes beyond the control of Mondaq. Such events, occurrences or causes will include, without limitation, acts of God, strikes, lockouts, server and network failure, riots, acts of war, earthquakes, fire and explosions.

Please set your data preference below:

Yes, I am happy to support Mondaq in maintaining its free to view business model by agreeing to allow Mondaq to share my personal data with Contributors whose Content I access

No, I do not want Mondaq to share my personal data with Contributors

Also please let us know whether you are happy to receive communications promoting products and services offered by Mondaq: